title: Disentangling steric and electrostatic factors in nanoscale transport through confined space.
abstract: The voltage-driven passage of biological polymers through nanoscale pores is an analytically, technologically, and biologically relevant process. Despite various studies on homopolymer translocation there are still several open questions on the fundamental aspects of pore transport. One of the most important unresolved issues revolves around the passage of biopolymers which vary in charge and volume along their sequence. Here we exploit an experimentally tunable system to disentangle and quantify electrostatic and steric factors. This new, fundamental framework facilitates the understanding of how complex biopolymers are transported through confined space and indicates how their translocation can be slowed down to enable future sensing methods.
authors.affiliation: School of Physical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, United States.
authors.forename: Steven F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Buchsbaum
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Hugh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Matt
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wiggin
authors.forename: Andre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marziali
authors.forename: Peter V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Coveney
authors.forename: Zuzanna
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Siwy
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Howorka
mesh_terms: D001704:Biopolymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015394:Molecular Structure; D058608:Nanopores; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D055672:Static Electricity
chemical_list: D001704:Biopolymers; D010455:Peptides; D004247:DNA